EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL
FAMILY LAW AMENDMENT (SHARED PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY) ACT 2006
PROCLAMATION
Subsection 2(1) of the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 (the Act) provides that Schedules 1 and 2 to the Act commence on the first day after 6 months from the day the Act receives Royal Assent, if not proclaimed earlier. The Act received Royal Assent on 22 May 2006.
The purpose of the proposed Proclamation is to fix 1 July 2006 as the day on which Schedules 1 and 2 to the Act commence.
The Act makes major reforms to provisions of the Family Law Act 1975 (the Principal Act) dealing with parental responsibility for children and procedures for resolution of family law disputes. The Act also makes changes to the terminology of parenting orders (removing references to 'residence' and 'contact', and substituting references to whom the child 'lives with' and 'spends time with').
The purpose of Schedule 1 is to ensure that children have a right to have a meaningful relationship with both their parents and that parents continue to share responsibility for their children after they separate. The amendments also promote the use of alternative dispute resolution procedures.
Schedule 2 complements other measures in the Act by strengthening the existing enforcement regime under the Principal Act.
The commencement of Schedules 1 and 2 would also trigger the commencement of several other Schedules to the Act.